Safety for firearms



Jan. 28, 1958' I J. L. TATMAN v 2,821,040

SAFETY FORFIREARMS' Filed Dec. 29, 1955 .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 James L. Tafman IN VEN TOR.

Jan. 28, 195 8 J. L. TATMAN SAFETY FOR FIREARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F iled. Dec.' 29, 1955 INVENTOR.

James L. Tafman SAFETY FOR FIREARMS James L. Tatman, Ludington, Mich. Application December 29, 1955, Serial No. 556,200

7 Claims. (Cl. 42-70) The present invention relates to a manually actuatable and controllable simplified so-called safety for use, generally speaking, on firearms, and has reference in particular to a safety which is expressly designed and therefore appropriate for use on Remington rifles and shotguns.

Stated more specifically, it is the object of the invention to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon similarly constructed and performing firearm safety devices. To this end, a feasible and aptly suitable construction has been evolved and produced and better fulfills the purposes of means in this field of endeavor and, what is just as important, meets the expected manufacturing and assembling requirements of manufacturers and firearms repairmen, and also meets the expected needs of hunters and other users of rifles and shotguns.

Most Remington rifles and shotguns have a trigger guard which is provided with an open ended cylindrical hole or socket and a passage which leads from the socket into the space which is encompassed by the inner periphery of the trigger guard. The trigger within the space or confines of the guard has a check lug which is projectible and retractible and is engageable with stop means operatively mounted in the stated socket. In carrying out the principles of the present invention, this cylindrical opening or hole is used and serves to accommodate a novel adapter which is flanged at its ends and removably held in place and has a guide opening in its body portion which accommodates a projectible and retractible stop which constitutes the safety shoulder for the aforementioned trigger check or lug.

More particularly, in carrying out the ideas here under consideration, a thrust member, which may be designated as a push-pull rod is provided and serves to project and withdraw the stop, said rod being connected with a lever and said lever being pivotally mounted in regular recess or opening means in the stock of the rifle, there being a thumb operated push-button and said pushbutton being slidably mounted on a relatively fixed attaching or mounting plate, whereupon the push-button is handily and accessibly arranged on top of the stock and so that it may be not only easily seen, but expeditiously operated.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a view in section and elevation showing fragmentary portions of the lug-equipp d trigger, the trigger guard, recessed rifle stock and the improved safety device and the manner in which it is constructed and brought into use;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 and which shows the safety stop projected andthe relative relationshipand 2,821,040 Patented Jan. 28, 1958 position of the essential parts of the device at this stage in operation;

Figure 5 is a section on the plane of the approximately vertical line 5-5 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the essential parts of the safety device all disconnected; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the retaining spring which is one of the components of the device.

Figure 8 is a view which is in section and, with parts in elevation, showing a slight modification with a Remington rifle of a type or style embodying a spring retainer tube.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the linkage which is substituted in the last-named rifle arrangement for the one-piece push rod, as will be later clarified.

Referring now to the drawings (Figs. 1 to 7), the rifle or gun stock, which is conventional insofar as it relates to a Remington rifle, is denoted generally by the numeral 10. The trigger is denoted at 12, and this is provided with a check or locking lug 14 which is projectible in relation to a slot or passage 16 at one end of the trigger guard 18. The trigger guard is provided at this point with an open ended cylindrical socket and the socket has communication with recess means in the upper half-portion of the stock 10. In carrying out the principles of the present invention, an attaching or mounting plate 20 is provided and this is so made that it covers the recess means in the stock and is held in place by screws or the like 22. The plate has a slot therein to accommodate what may be called the shank 24 on a push-button 26. The push-button is adapted to be slid back and forth and is exteriorly arranged so that it is easy to see and accessible. The shank has an oblique angled notch 28 therein and outstanding pins 30. The notch is engageable with a cross-member which functions as a cam and is denoted at 32 in Figure 6. This cam is arranged in the slotted portion 34 of a member which is here referred to generally as a lever 36. The lever is provided at one end with cars 38 which straddle and are hingedly connected with a supporting pin 40, as perhaps best shown in Figures 1 and 4. The other end of the lever is provided with an extension which is bifurcated, and the furcations are denoted at 42 and these straddle keying grooves 44 which are provided therefor in the upper end of a push-pull rod 46. The upper end of the rod is also provided with a screwdriver kerf 48. The lower end is screw threaded as at 50 and screws into a screw threaded socket 52 provided in the projectible and retractible stop lug 54. This lug is operable in a guide space or pocket 56 which is provided therefor in the generally cylindrical adapter or fitting 58. This adapter is fitted into the aforementioned socket which is provided in the guard 18 and is here denoted by the numeral 60. There is a fixed flange 62 at one end of the fitting which serves to keep it in place, and at the opposite end, there is an axial screw threaded socket 64 to accommodate the shank of a screw 66 passing through an opening in the collar 68. By fastening the collar in place by the screw, it provides the other stop flange, that is, the flange which cooperates with the flange 62, and these two flanges serve to removably hold the adapter in the intended position in the socket 60. Obviously, the stop 54 works in the guide opening 56 and is cooperable with the passage 16 so that it may be retracted to the position seen in Figure 1 on the one hand or projected to the safety locking position seen in Figure 4 on the other hand.

It will be obvious that as the push-button 26 is shifted either forwardly or rearwardly relative to the slotted plate 20, the oblique notch 28 functioning in conjunction with the cam 32 will pivot the lever 36 and transmit the necessary push or pull motion to the rod means 46. In order to maintain the push-button in these on and off positions, a. spring retainer is desirable and perhaps necessary. While this may be of some other form, it is preferably a spring metal strip or plate 70 which, as shown in Figure 7, has a central slot 72 and laterally bent ends 74 and 76 which are releasably engageable with the keeper bosses 78 and 80. The shank 24 is passed through the slot 72 and the connection between the spring and shank is attained by way of the aforementioned pins or studs 30.

It will be evident from the drawings that Figure 1 illustrates the cooperation in combination of the essential parts in relation -to the stock, trigger and guard and wherein the safety stop 54 is withdrawn or in its retracted state and which therefore allows for freedom of operation of the trigger 12 and its check lug 14. At this time, the catch 76 on the spring 70 is engaged with the detent or boss 80. The lever 36 is up and the push-rod 46 is retracted. The relationship which these parts assume when the safety stop 54 is on is shown in Figure 4. So, by comparing these two Figures 1 and 4 with each other, after having studied the details themselves in Figure 6, the reader will be in a satisfactory position to understand the invention. This slide type safety being mounted on top of the stock is readily seen and operated. The construction is such that the parts are susceptible of being fitted into the same openings as the original safety and no alteration is necessary in the trigger assembly or trigger guard. Trigger locking therefore is obtained by a rearward motion of the thumb slide which depresses the lever and which in turn moves the thrust rod and trigger locking stop downward to the bottom locking the trigger in a forward position. Firing position is obtained by a forward movement of thumb button or slide which reverses the action of the parts in an obvious manner, as shown.

There are instances where the one-piece elongate pushrod 46 would not be satisfactorily usable. For example, in the case of a Remington rifle in which the conventional spring retainer tube is employed, a slight variation in constructionis necessary. Reference is had, therefore, to Figure 8 wherein the spring retainer tube is denoted by the reference letter A. This is, as is known, a conventional part. Hence, the solid rod 46 will not do here. In. the circumstances, a relatively short push-pull rod 46-A is substituted. Except for being short, it is the same in construction as the rod 46, and therefore the same reference numerals are supplied as already used in Figures 1 to 7, inclusive. In order to make way for the tube, there is a link added, and this is a new part, and it is denoted by the numeral 82. As is best shown in Figure 9, it is an open rectangular frame, the opening 84 of which permits the passage of the tube or, rather, the link actually encircles the tube. The lower cross-member of the link, that is, the member 86, has an offset extension or flange 88 and this is formed with a notch which is engaged with the shouldered head portion 44 already described. Instead of the cars 42 engaging the shouldered portion 44, they are here engaged with the offset bends 90 and 92. In other words, this link bridges the space between the lever 36 and the shorter push-rod 4'6-A. Otherwise, the construction is the same, and therefore the same reference numerals are applied to the parts already described.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use on and in conjunction with existing recess means-in the stock of rifles and shotguns and, which when installed and used requires no structural alterations of the stock, the trigger assembly or the trigger guard; a trigger locking safety comprising, in combination, a projectible and retractible stop with which a check lug on a trigger is operatively engageable, an adapter structurally designed to be removably fitted into an existing open ended socket in said trigger guard which is in communication with said recess, said adapter having a stop confining and guiding passage in which said stop is slidable and movable toward and from said check lug, a pivotally mounted swingable lever, a push-pull rod means operatively connected at one end with said stop and at its other end with said lever, a thumb actuated pushbutton operatively connected with said lever, and spring means cooperable with said push-button and adapted to cooperate with a button mounting plate.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein the spring means comprises a slotted resilient plate having selectively usable catches at its respective ends, means being provided to hold the catches in their intended off and on position.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein said lever is provided with a cam member, said thumb button having a shank and said shank having an oblique angled notch which is operatively cooperable with said cam member.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein said adapter comprises a cylindrical member having an assembling and retaining flange at one end and a removable collar at the other end.

5. For use on and in conjunction with existing recess means in the stock of Remington rifles and shotguns and which requires no structural alterations of the stock, trigger assembly or trigger guard; a trigger locking safety device comprising, in combination, a projectable and retractible stop with which a check lug on a standard trigger is engageable, an adapter designed to be removably'fitted into an existing open ended hole, said adapter having a confining and guiding passage in which said stop is slidable and movable toward and from said check lug, a swingable lever, a push-pull rod means operatively connected at one end with said stop and at its other end with said lever, a thumb actuated push-button operatively connected with said lever, and spring means cooperablc with said push-button and adapted to cooperate with a button mounting plate, said push-pull rod means comprising an elongate one-piece rod.

6. For use on and in conjunction with existing recess means in the stock of Remington rifles and shotguns and which requires no structural alterations of the stock, trigger assembly or trigger guard; a trigger locking safety device comprising, in combination, a projectable and retractible stop with which a check lug on a standard trigger is engageable, an adapter designed to be removably fitted into an existing open ended hole, said adapter having a confining and guiding passage in which said stop is slidable and movable toward and from said check lug, a swingable lever, a push-pull rod means operatively connected at one end with said stop and at its other end with said lever, a thumb actuated push-button operatively connected with said lever, and spring means cooperable with saidpush-button and adapted to cooperate with a button mounting plate, said push-pull rod means comprising an elongate one-piece rod, said rod being relatively short and having a shouldered head at the upper end, and a frame-like link having its lower portion flanged and notched and connected with said shouldered head, the upper portion of said link being operatively connected with the adjacent end of said swingable lever.

7. For use on and in conjunction with a gunstock having a recess therein opening through the top and bottom portions of the stock, a trigger guard mounted on the stock having an open-ended socket in communication with said recess, and a trigger operatively mounted in said trigger guard, said trigger having a check-lug projectable into the socket by way of an opening provided therefor; a trigger locking safety comprising, in combination, a readily insertable adapter structurally designed and removably fitted into said socket, said adapter having a stop confining and guiding passage which is 5 fined in the recess, rigid push-pull means affording an 10 operating connection between the stop and the cooperating end of said lever, said lever being provided with a cam member, a thumb actuated push button having a shank and said shank having an oblique angled notch therein, a cam member carried by said lever and operably mounted in said notch, and plate means for operatively mounting said push button on the upper open end of said recess.

No references cited. 

